Ice cream and summer go hand and hand, but doesn't it seem a little ironic, even cruel, that ice cream season is also bathing suit season? Thrive & Dine isn’t about being restrictive, we do love ice cream, but when we indulge we strive to find the healthiest and tastiest frozen treats we can find. Ice cream can definitely fit into a healthy lifestyle (so long as you don't have a pint every night, naturally). But choose carefully. Who wants to eat a bowl of chemicals and artificial ingredients? No thanks! You could make your own ice cream to control the ingredients, but it is a time-consuming process. Thrive & Dine found two places to cool you off this summer where you can find some “healthy-ish” ice cream that the whole family will enjoy.

A’ la Minute sources ingredients from local farmers and purveyors who use natural or organic farming practices to craft their ice cream. Their dairy products come from Straus Family Creamery, which is a 100% organic dairy. The cows are grass-fed and there is more than an acre per cow to roam. Not all of the other ingredients they use are organic, but most are.

They use liquid nitrogen to rapidly freeze the made-to-order ice cream, which minimizes the size of the ice crystals and results in a much creamier ice cream. It is fun to watch your ice cream being made with the billows of non-toxic, nitrogen “smoke.” It’s like watching a delicious science project in action. It looks like this:

A’ la Minute has one Orange County location on the circle in Old Town Orange at 117 N. Glassell Street.

Another favorite is Pressed Juicery with multiple locations including five in Southern California (Fashion Island, Crystal Cove, Irvine Spectrum, Westcliff in Newport Beach and Plaza de la Paz in Laguna Niguel). They blend two big food trends: green juice and soft-serve ice cream. Their soft serve, which they call a freeze, is vegan, gluten and dairy-free. The ingredients of the freeze include only fruits, vegetables, almonds, dates and coconuts. Trust me, it is delicious and very refreshing! They have several flavors ranging from Matcha (matcha, kale, romaine, cucumber, almonds, dates, vanilla bean), Strawberry Almond (strawberry, almonds, dates, vanilla bean, beet), Chocolate (almonds, dates, cacao, sea salt) and vanilla (almonds, dates, vanilla bean and sea salt). with multiple locations including five in Southern California. They blend two big food trends: green juice and soft-serve ice cream. Their soft serve, which they call a freeze, is vegan, gluten and dairy-free. The ingredients of the freeze include only fruits, vegetables, almonds, dates and coconuts. Trust me, it is delicious and very refreshing! They have several flavors ranging from Matcha (matcha, kale, romaine, cucumber, almonds, dates, vanilla bean), Strawberry Almond (strawberry, almonds, dates, vanilla bean, beet), Chocolate (almonds, dates, cacao, sea salt) and vanilla (almonds, dates, vanilla bean and sea salt).

They offer a variety of toppings such as fruits, chia seeds, hemp seeds, dark chocolate chips, granola, chocolate-covered goji berries. They also have more unique choices like peanut butter, almond butter, rose syrup, pink Himalayan sea salt and their homemade cacao nut freezing drizzle,. Pressed Juicery is not all organic, but it is non-GMO. You can also pick up a juice from a variety of options that have all been cold-pressed.

I guess we can be glad that the warm weather is perfect for swimming too, that way we can burn off those calories. Summer’s wonderful in-season, fresh fruit is always a great dessert choice, but why not try one of these “healthier” ice creams for a special treat? Happy Summer!